Elections

CIVICS CHAPTER 8 - ELECTIONS


1) Why are the modern democracies indirect?

Direct societies do not suit the modern age as the population of the country cannot be directly involved in the Government process. It did exist in the ancient societies where the population was less and all the members of the community could be involved in formation of laws and decisions making process for the community. But this became defunct as the population increased and it was impossible for the whole community to be involved in the law making and decision making process. Indirect democracies came to the rescue where representatives are elected to represent the community and take decisions for the community and impose laws for the benefit of the community at large.
Indirect democracies play a major role in modern democracies as the electorate does not control the government directly but indirectly and the government is accountable for the decisions taken and if the decisions taken are unconstitutional, then the representative is done away with in the next election. Though the electorate does not get involved directly in the law making process but it is involved in the government formation process where it has the choice to form the government which will work for the betterment of the community at large.

2) What is the importance of representation in democracy?

In modern democracies representation forms the most important business in the government formation. The population rise has given rise to indirect form of democracy whereby representatives are chosen from the community by the community itself and this representative takes decisions and makes laws on behalf of the community at large. Choosing the correct representative is precisely the most important form of the government forming process.
The usual way of choosing a representative is through election and in today’s election process all adults at the age of 18 and above start having a say in the government process by exercising their right to vote. The government is not independent but is accountable to the people of the land as the representatives are controlled by the people and it is through the representatives that the community has a control over the legislature. A government so formed does not rule but instead is ruled by the people of the country and thus we can say that representation or choosing a representative is the most important act in the government formation process or in a democracy.

3) What is the meaning of the terms: responsible government and accountability?

During the time of monarchy and feudalism the governments were not called responsible governments, as it depended on the monarch to make the life of the subjects better. If the monarch was not interested, then naturally the subjects suffered. There was nothing like responsibility on the part of the monarch. It was only after the English and French revolutions that the governments that were set up were called responsible governments. They were different from the earlier feudal governments. They could not do what they pleased. They had to obey definite rules and that was more important the ordinary laws that were framed for the ordinary people. These rules were laid down and were like laws above the ordinary laws and that was called constitution of the land.
During feudalism the laws that were passed by the monarch were just passed and he was not answerable to the general public for the laws he had framed. The general public had just to follow the laws whether they were beneficial to them or not. But in modern democracies, if the party has to stay in power, then it is accountable to the general public for the decisions taken and the laws passed because then the general public can just throw them out in the next general elections. The governments today are accountable for the decisions taken on behalf of the citizens of the country.

4) What is an election manifesto? What is its use?

When the election dates are made public, then the parties go in for campaigning. This forms the crucial part in any election process. It is the process by which the candidate persuades the voters to vote for him/her rather than some one else. Though some times speeches, posters processions do the part of campaigning, the candidates do go across to the people with their manifesto where by they describe in what way they would solve some of the internal and external issues once they are elected. It also explains to the voters as to how the candidate and the party he/she is representing is different from the other party. Election manifestos are very important documents and the parties are judged by them. It is in a way a commitment by the government that once it is elected it will honor all the promises made in the manifesto. If by chance the government does not honor the promises so made, then an electorate can demand the fulfillment of the promises made in the manifesto.

The election manifesto is most useful for selecting the right kind of representative and seeing to it that the representative so elected acts for the better life of the people who have elected him trusting his promises he made in the manifesto. As it is also a written promise made by the candidate, he cannot, after he is elected go back on the promises so made. This helps the electorate to keep the representative in control.

5) Can you explain the paradoxes of simple majority?

The election process in our country is not based on any cryptic formulae. It is based on the method of simple majority. Any person who is elected or who gains even one vote more than his opponent is declared a winner. This helps even the simple rural electorate understand the reason why a particular candidate has been elected. If major formulae are involved, then the electorate will find it difficult to understand the reason why a particular candidate has been elected or not. Simple majority makes the election process simple and not complex. The whole idea is that the representative should be a delegate of the majority of the voters.

But simple majority has its own disadvantages. It is advantageous when there are two candidates. But when there are more than two candidates, then the problem arises. For example, there are three candidates A, B, C. In the elections, A polls 40 votes and B and C together poll 30 votes each. According to the process of simple majority A is clearly the winner as he has polled 10 more votes than either B or C. But the problem here arises that though 40 people want him to be their representative, 60 people do not want him to be their representative. Here the simple majority turns out to be disadvantageous. But where there are certain advantages, disadvantages also do arise.

6) Describe the various steps in the election process?

Election forms the most important exercise in any democratic country. The whole election process undergoes various steps which are important in their own way and the whole exercise has to undergo each one of them before the entire exercise is complete.

 Representation: Today’s democracies are indirect democracies and representation forms an important step. A representative is one who is elected by the community to represent them in the law making process. Selecting of the right kind of representative who will effectively represent the community forms the most important function. It is through the representative that the community can control the government.
 The Franchise: The right to vote is called franchise or suffrage. The constitution in modern world gives this right to each and every citizen of the land irrespective of his economic, educational or caste status. It is the right of every citizen and every citizen can exercise only one vote. There can be no proxy voting when we have to exercise our franchise.
 Secret Ballot: During the election process every citizen above the age of 18 chooses his candidate through his franchise but he can do so in secret i.e. he need not tell anyone whom he has voted for. This secret ballot is important especially in a country like India where a voter can be harassed if the candidate comes to know that he has not been voted for.
 Candidates: A person who is willing to stand up for elections and get elected as a representative is called a candidate. There are two types of candidates one is the party candidate and the other is an independent candidate. A party candidate has the support of his party and the party campaigns for him. But an independent candidate has to do all the campaigning himself but where coalition governments are to be formed, then the support of the independent elected candidate becomes effective. But when compared to a party candidate, an independent candidate even if elected has to work under a tremendous handicap.
 Nominations: Once the candidates are selected by the parties to stand for the election, then they have to formally announce their intention to participate in the elections. This is called nominations. A last date is announced before which the nominations have to come before the election commission. Then follows the period of scrutiny where the papers are scrutinized whether they are in order. Sometimes the nominations are rejected if there is any doubt arising in the papers so submitted. After this the candidates are usually given a date before which they can withdraw their candidature. This is to make the election process clearer and to disallow wastage of the voter paper where only seriously contending names of the candidates are printed.
 Symbols: Symbols form another important process in the elections. In a country like India where the rural poor are often illiterate and cannot read the names of their candidates whom they want to elect, the symbols play a very important part so that the illiterate can cast his vote for his candidate. They also play a very important part among the educated classes where a huge number of candidates are standing for election and it is difficult to remember the names then the party symbol comes handy.
 The Campaign: Campaigning is the process by which a candidate tries to persuade the voter to vote for him/her rather than the others. A usual campaign involves public speeches, posters, processions and manifesto. In the whole campaigning process the election manifesto plays a very important part where the candidate proclaims that if at all he is elected then what are the problems of the nation he is going to solve and in what way. Usually the party for which a candidate is representing brings out an election manifesto. It also helps the general public to remind the candidate once he is elected about the promises that he had made during the campaigning.
 Simple Majority: The election of a candidate is through simple majority. The idea behind the election is that the representative should be elected through a majority of voters. But ideally this does not happen. It is effective where there are only two candidates but where there are more than two candidates then the formula of simple majority may become a disadvantage. Some countries have adopted a system of proportional representation to prevent the anomalies of simple majority though our country follows it.